NEW YORK – Providence and Connecticut, ranked 21st and 25th, respectively, in this week’s Associated Press poll, registered Thursday wins.
The Friars began their game against Georgetown with a 13-0 start, then stopped a Hoya comeback attempt in an 83-75 victory at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Ed Croswell and Al Durham each scored 15 points. Croswell shot 7-of-7 from the floor. Coach Ed Cooley registered his 209th win at Providence (15-2, 5-1 BIG EAST), tying him with former coach and BIG EAST founder Dave Gavitt. Georgetown (6-9, 0-4 BE) trimmed a 16-point deficit in the second half to four, but the Hoyas could not complete the comeback. Donald Curry scored a game-high 21 points and Kaiden Rice added 19. The duo shot a combined 10-of-16 from 3-point range.
UConn and Butler met for the second time in three days. The end result was the same with the Huskies (13-4, 4-2 BE) pulling away in the final minutes for a 75-56 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse. UConn wing Tyrese Martin scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half. Adama Sanogo added 15 points and nine rebounds. UConn won the rebounding battle 39-25. The Bulldogs (9-9, 2-5 BE), who led 28-24 at halftime, were led by Chuck Harris’ 16 points.
BIG EAST play continues Saturday with a pair of noon ET tipoffs. No. 11 Villanova will try to bounce back from Wednesday’s loss to Marquette when it plays at Georgetown on FOX. St. John’s hosts Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden on FS1. DePaul visits Creighton on CBS Sports Network at 5:30 p.m.